Elvin Penner came to public light when he won elections for Cayo Northeast in 2008. He became the first Mennonite to hold political office. Between 2008 and 2012, he was gifted with the rank as full minister, but in this second Barrow Administration, Penner returned as a junior minister as minister of state for immigration. […]
The Prime Minister said earlier today that Elvin Penner acted grievously wrong in the issuance of a passport to a South Korean National in jail in Taiwan. Notwithstanding, the U.D.P. is backing Penner whose political career has been destroyed by the scandal. Penner, however, still has the support of his cabinet colleagues. On Wednesday, the […]
Multiple entities and organizations today came out swinging at the government of Belize. In regards to the Penner passport scandal, the B.N.T.U. took the first vicious swing via press release, followed by the VIP and the Chamber of Commerce. We’ll show you those releases, but today in Belmopan News Five spoke to Bobby Lopez of […]
Former Minister of State and the disgraced Elvin Penner had until five p.m. today to bid his office adieu. That’s the ultimatum sent his way by P.U.P. leader Francis Fonseca. If Penner doesn’t resign, then the P.U.P. plans to force him out by triggering the recall mechanism. To do that, the opposition party needs to […]
Elvin Penner is recovering from hypertension for which he was admitted at Medical Associates on Thursday. Since then, he has been visited by the P.M. who says that his condition has improved. But P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca has given the Cayo Northeast Area Representative until Monday to resign or be recalled. That offer is still […]
P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca has given disgraced former Minister of State and Cayo Northeast Area Representative Elvin Penner five days to resign. If Penner does not do so, then the P.U.P. will push to get him recalled. But tonight, there are reports that Penner has been hospitalized in Belize City suffering from hypertension presumably occasioned […]
Amid the ongoing debacle is the very real possibility that a recall mechanism, enshrined in the constitution, will be triggered by the opposition. The government of the day maintains control of the House of Representatives by a hairsbreadth. That seventeen-fourteen majority can be gravely affected if the constituents of Cayo Northeast collectively decide that after […]
While the Prime Minister spoke to the media at Whitfield Towers the leader of the opposition also spoke to News Five at Independence Hall. For the opposition, Penner, in fact, is suddenly in the spotlight for more than his involvement in the passport scandal. He and his seat are in the Opposition’s cross-hairs as a […]
The House of Representatives met today in Belmopan where a number of laws, including the High Seas Fishing and Medical Practice bills, were tabled. The introduction of the former legislation is to make new and improved conditions for the management and control of fishing in the open sea. Likewise, the presentation of the Medical Practice […]
According to the prime minister, the inquiry cannot focus on the nationality section of the department since it is the minister’s signature that was affixed to the document. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “With respect to the nationality section of the department, the situation is completely different. It is the minister who signs the nationality […]
Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca, in raising the matter, says that responsibility for what has transpired falls squarely at the feet of Prime Minister Barrow since he appointed Penner the portfolio of Minister of State in the Ministry of Immigration fully aware of allegations made against him leading up to the last general elections. […]
On Thursday, the Belize Bank froze the accounts of the Orange Walk Town Council, bringing its daily operations to a screeching halt. The issue is an overdraft facility acquired and operated by the previous administration. The debt was to have been paid off in 2012, but it wasn’t. That outstanding bill was classified as a […]
The Prime Minister also punctuated his tongue-lashing of the Orange Walk Town Council with a personal jab at Mayor Kevin Bernard. In questioning the managing of the town’s finances by the Council, the PM has raised his eyebrows at a vehicle being driven by the Mayor. Today we reached Mayor Kevin Bernard, who reacted to […]
This Sunday, September twenty-ninth will mark some sixty-three years since the establishment of the People’s United Party. It’s a big moment for members and supporters of the P.U.P. as they reflect on the history of the party. For the second year in a row, a photographic exhibition is being held at Independence Hall in Belize […]
When News Five caught up with the Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca on Thursday at National Service Day activities, we also got an update from him in respect of the Public Accounts Committee. The chairman of the PAC is Julius Espat, who is also the Deputy Party Leader of the P.U.P. Espat says he […]
The opposition, People’s United Party, has announced that it will be holding conventions for candidates interested in contesting the upcoming elections. Already in Cayo Central and Belmopan, the field is getting crowded with new faces popping up. Today, Alburn Rivero Senior, who hails from Double Head Cabbage, dropped by our studios to say that he […]
The Stake Bank and Ocean View Grand two hundred million Belize dollar project with the Feinstein group of companies was unveiled on Wednesday. The development involves both Stake Bank and Drowned Caye and the construction of a causeway. There was support coming from stakeholders even as the National Environmental Assessment Committee was yet to pronounce […]
And if there was still any doubt that Cabinet has given the green light to the proposed two hundred million dollar Stake Bank Project, senior Minister John Saldivar today dispelled those. When asked about support for the massive undertaking, Saldivar was clear that barring some minor concerns, as far as Cabinet is concerned the project […]
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee held a meeting on Wednesday in Belmopan. Realistically, we should say that the government members of the PAC held a meeting, because Chairman Julius Espat and opposition member Rodwell Ferguson walked out in protest. Still, as they say, the show must go on…and it did. The four government […]
Today, the Public Accounts Committee held its first meeting since the call for its restructuring of its composition. Fireworks were expected as both sides declared that they would stand firm. Their positions are simple – the opposition members refuse to scrutinize Auditor General Reports dating back to 2003. They say their mandate is to look […]
While pro-tem PAC Chairman John Saldivar has said that all meetings of the PAC from now on will be open to the public, this one wasn’t. The media wasn’t even allowed into the offices of the National Assembly, much less anywhere the committee room. Prime Minister Dean Barrow had said that meetings would be public, […]
Less than two weeks ago celebrated Belize Jaguar defensive star Ian ‘Yellow’ Gaynair discovered that he had been stripped of his piece of the jewel. Years ago, Gaynair had been given a parcel of land in Lake Independence. It was swampland, so gradually he had been having it filled. But that land was taken away […]
On Tuesday, the People’s United Party issued a declaration condemning government’s refusal to even consider the restructuring of the Public Accounts Committee. It was in response to a release from the office of Prime Minister Dean Barrow last week. That release rejected the proposed restructuring of PAC as contrary to the Standing Orders of the […]
And while Michael Silva is allegedly coming back…Dan Silva is coming back for sure. The successful former politician and P.U.P. Minister says he intends to reclaim his old stomping grounds in Cayo Central. Silva served as Minister of Trade from 1989 to 1993 and as Minister of Agriculture from 1998 to 2003. He then departed […]
But Silva won’t be back, at least not officially, until he gets past the P.U.P.’s vetting process. That process should be applied to all persons who aspire to contest conventions on the P.U.P. ticket. Party Leader Francis Fonseca says that Silva will get no free pass, even though he may get some consideration because of […]
